Facing the reigning Super Bowl champions with all the NFL world tuned in, a pair of rookie rabblerousers ran with wildness on Thursday night.
Not since 1998 had the New York Giants toppled a defending champ.
That changed on a glorious evening for Big Blue when Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo collected a host of historical notes, five total touchdowns and, most importantly, a stunning 34-17 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.
"It absolutely is, because you have to have a lot of respect for that team," said Dart when asked if Thursday stood as a statement-making win. "They just came off of winning the Super Bowl. They're the top team in the league. And, quite honestly, nobody really expected us to put up a performance like this. As a locker room, as teammates, we felt confident. We tried to play hard for each other. We're not trying to make statements. We're just trying to play for each other and win games. We want to find an identity and I felt like we did a good job of putting that a little bit together tonight."
Dart, the 2025 NFL Draft's No. 25 pick, completed 17 of 25 passes for 195 yards and a touchdown, while adding 13 carries for 58 yards and another score to become the first Giants rookie starting quarterback since Travis Tidwell all the way back in 1950 to earn a win over the rival Eagles.
"I've liked everything about Dart since we got him," Giants head coach Brian Daboll said. "Again, he's not perfect, it's not gonna be perfect, whatever it may be. But you've got toughness. He sees the field well. You've got athleticism, vision, leadership. But it's three games in, 2-1 as a starting quarterback. Got a lot to work on. He'll be the first to tell you that, but he's a leader."
Joining his QB in the historic endeavors was Skattebo, who had 19 punishing carries for 98 yards and three touchdowns -- marking just the second time in franchise history that a rookie has had a trio of rushing scores and the first overall since 2011.
This tandem of new-age Giants roared to a long list of benchmarks, keying a stunning triumph and offering statistical support that a club with just one winning season since 2017 is running (hard) in the right direction.
- Entering Thursday, the Giants had lost nine straight games against reigning Super Bowl champions. New York won for the first time in such a game since Week 15, 1998, against the Denver Broncos.
- Since 2014, the Eagles are 19-5 (including playoffs) against the Giants, tied for the most wins against a single opponent in that span.
- New York snapped a 0-10 streak over the last 10 seasons on Thursday night (the worst record in the NFL).
- Entering the game, the Eagles were 10-1 on Thursdays over the last 10 seasons (the best record in the NFL).
- The Giants snapped a 10-game losing streak against the Eagles in prime-time games.
- Dart joined his Thursday opponent, Jalen Hurts, and Lamar Jackson as the only QBs in the Super Bowl era with 50-plus rushing yards in each of their first three starts.
- Skattebo and Dart became the first two Giants rookies to score rushing TDs in the same game since Larry Heater and Leon Perry in Week 10, 1980, versus the Dallas Cowboys.
- Dart joined the Buffalo Bills' Josh Allen as the only QBs this year with touchdowns rushing and passing on scrambles.
- Skattebo is now the first RB since the Arizona Cardinals' David Johnson in Week 15, 2015, to rush for three TDs against the Eagles.
- New York became the first team to rush for four TDs against the defending champs since the Carolina Panthers in Week 16, 2008, against the Giants.
- Thursday stands as just the second time over the last nine matchups that the Giants have defeated the Eagles.
Changing the course of the franchise isn't something Gotham's newest dynamic duo take lightly.
"Me and him do a lot of things on the side together, talk a lot together about kind of getting this turned around," said the 23-year-old Skattebo, a fourth-round pick this year. "Not doing it on our own, but getting everyone to buy in and continue to stay positive and work to be better. The franchise has been a losing franchise the last couple years, but that's not who we are right now. We need to continue to build and build and build each and every day and have these guys with positive mindsets, and get away from that losing mindset. We won the game tonight, and I felt that through these guys."
From the outset on Thursday, it seemed something special could be in store for the Giants.
Answering the Eagles taking a 3-0 lead on the game's first possession, Dart scrambled for a 20-yard score. Dart hit Wan'Dale Robinson for a 35-yard TD on the ensuing NYG drive, but perhaps most impressive was that after the Eagles rallied to take a 17-13 lead, the Giants didn't whittle away. That resolve was even more stately considering New York was rebounding from a 26-14 loss to the New Orleans Saints, one in which Dart and Skattebo were responsible for four of the team's five turnovers.
Throughout the night, Dart and Skattebo were emblematic of an effort that showcased tenacity, toughness and a whole lot of exuberance.
Dart was briefly sidelined to be evaluated for a concussion. What followed was pure theatre.
As the QB jogged into the blue medical tent, a full house followed, with Daboll peeking in to get an update and running mate Skattebo following. Daboll was also seen giving an earful to the team doctor. Meanwhile, Week 1-starter-turned backup Russell Wilson entered the game to a chorus of boos for a pair of snaps before a punt. When Dart returned for the following drive, the 22-year-old was met with a hero's ovation from the crowd.
"If you've ever been on an NFL sideline, there's a lot of emotions, and I certainly am an emotional guy. I apologized directly to our team physician," Daboll said. "I just wanted his ass out there if he was OK, but I wanted to process, like, we were getting ready to go for it on a potential fourth down. I would've burned a timeout if he could've came out there, so I was asking how long is it gonna take."
Skattebo reeled off the game's final three scores: a 4-yarder in the second quarter that stood as the game-winner and a pair of 1-yard rumbles, one in the third and another in the fourth.
"I felt the confidence no matter what," Skattebo said. "Going up by three, going down by four, I felt that through these guys. It's been awesome. Like I said, I'm excited to see what these guys do in the future."
Backflipping and bulldozing, Skattebo has quickly become a New York favorite that no doubt gained more admirers on Thursday. It's much the same for Dart, who balances the poise of a veteran with the free spirt, just-eye-black-under-one-eye nature of a first-year phenom in the making.
Their exuberance isn't all greatness, however. Dart launched himself like a head-first missile into a defender on one scramble and could draw a fine for high-fiving a referee, who initially signaled a Skattebo run (that was overturned to a TD) was short of the end zone. Skattebo, whose runs are instant Giants highlights serving as reminders of the likes of Mark Bavaro, Ottis Anderson and Jeremy Shockey, drew a flag late in the game for taunting.
On this night, though, just six games into their first NFL seasons, Dart and Skattebo played starring roles in an off-Broadway production that is drawing rave reviews.
Just how long it will run remains to be seen, but for now, they're the talk of the town.
"I understand that the most important thing for everybody is winning," Dart said. "As competitors, that's how we feel, too. I feel like this city is starving for that and we are starving for that. We hate losing. It's the worst feeling in the world. We just try to do our best, regardless of what the outside noise is, to keep everything internal between us. I have all the confidence in the world in every single player on this team."
